25 Incredible Close-up Macro Photos of Insects

Macro photography can be amazing – you get to see everyday objects in a completely different way and notice all the things you wouldn’t see with the naked eye. Insects look incredibly strange when viewed through a macro lense – like alien life forms! And that’s the subject of today’s roundup post, I will be sharing some incredible examples of insect macro photography of  found on Flickr and licensed under a Creative Commons license. Many thanks to the photographers involved …

Machimus portrait

Machimus portrait by /\/\acropoulos

Robber Fly with Prey (Holcocephala fusca)

Photoname by Thomas Shahan

Male Striped Horse Fly (Tabanus lineola)

Male Striped Horse Fly (Tabanus lineola) by Thomas Shahan

The House Fly!

The House Fly! by VinothChandar

Dolichopodids, fairly small, metallic flies with large, prominent eyes

Dolichopodids, fairly small, metallic flies with large, prominent eyes by williamcho

Hey you, big man! I’m a little fly…

Hey you, big man! I’m a little fly… by ~jjjohn~

~ Face to Face ~

~ Face to Face ~ by ViaMoi

“Hanging-Thief” Diogmites Robber Fly

“Hanging-Thief” Diogmites Robber Fly by Thomas Shahan

Oh My what big eyes you have

Oh My what big eyes you have by aussiegall

Im thirst…………….

Im thirst……………. by Matthew Fang

Proboscis

Proboscis by /\/\acropoulos

Are you look at me ??

Are you look at me ?? by Matthew Fang

“Yeah…the glasses are cool…but it’s the mustache that makes me look so incredibly sophisticated!”

“Yeah…the glasses are cool…but it’s the mustache that makes me look so incredibly sophisticated!” by MrClean1982

Just catching some rays. ok?!

Just catching some rays. ok?! by Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel

Paper Wasp

Paper Wasp by e_monk

Damselfly with Prey

Damselfly with Prey by Thomas Shahan

Fly

Fly by Reini68

Female Ommatius Robber Fly

Female Ommatius Robber Fly by Thomas Shahan

Autumn ladybird

Autumn ladybird by nutmeg6

Wonderful Wings

Wonderful Wings by HiggySTFC

IMG_350D_16068

IMG_350D_16068 by dincordero

Bubble Blowing Fly

Bubble Blowing Fly by Gerald Yuvallos

Eyes of a Holcocephala fusca Robber Fly

Eyes of a Holcocephala fusca Robber Fly by Thomas Shahan

Dust in the wing…

Dust in the wing… by /\/\acropoulos

…what big eyes you have!

…what big eyes you have! by dincordero

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source http://photographicblog.com/25-incredible-close-up-macro-photos-of-insects/

Beginners Guide to Taking Perfectly Blur-Free & Sharp Images

A crisp sharp image

We,ve all had them; those images that looked fine on your cameras small LCD screen but after you loaded them on to your photo editer they look blurry or out of focus (or both). Yes, we could sharpen the images in Photoshop elements and try and mask the mistake and that’s ok if they’re only slightly out, but if they’re too blurry and out of focus then it may be impossible to redeem them. So, it’s better that we try and get a crisp, clear picture in camera; and there’s a few ways we can do that.

© Anthony Webber

Trusty tripod

The first way is by using a tripod, particularly when the light is poor or when you need to use a slow shutter speed, yes, I’m always going on about using a tripod but it’s true; by using a tripod you reduce the risk of camera shake and therefore, giving you sharper images.

But of course, a tripod is not always practical for some types of photography and also, it depends on the type of subjects you like to photograph, but, if you have a choice then you should always use one to get a sharper image. If you’re looking for a good tripod but can’t afford a ‘Manfrotto’,  there’s plenty to choose from at more affordable prices.

Raise the ISO level

If a tripod can’t be used for whatever reason, then you’ll have to hand hold your camera, if you’re shooting in low light that could mean that the shutter speed may go below what might be acceptable to hand hold (below 1/60th sec). If that’s the case then try raising your ISO level; this is simply a measurement of how sensitive a cameras sensor is to light, so by raising the ISO level, less time is needed to expose a picture, which means you can use a faster shutter speed.

The downside is your picture may start showing some noise (it gets grainy) the higher the ISO setting the more noise. With some digital cameras you could raise the ISO level up to 1600 ( they can go as high as 6400) and the noise on your photograph will still look acceptable, but for a sharp, bright picture then keep the ISO level as low as possible.

© Anthony Webber

Focusing

Another way to get sharper pictures is to make sure you’re focusing properly on your subject. When a digtal camera focuses it uses focus points in the shape of a diamond and the active point shows in red; auto-focus will work well a lot of the time but sometimes, such as low light situations, shooting through glass, certain patterns and lines can confuse the lens on what to focus on.

If you encounter this sort of problem then try using manual mode, this will help you isolate your subject to get the shot you want. If you’re hand holding your camera, and your lens (or camera) has image stabilization, then make sure you switch it on, but if you’re using a tripod then you’ll need to switch it off otherwise the IS will still be searching for movement (when there isn’t any) and this, albeit tiny amount of searching can cause minute movement.

© Anthony Webber

Sweet spot

Most digital camera lenses have a ‘sweet spot’; an aperture where the lens operates at its best; for most lenses this would be about 1 to 2/stops from the maximum aperture on your lens,( the lowest number eg f/1.8 f/2.4 etc)  this can vary from lens to lens so you may want to take a few test shots to find the sweet spot with your lens.

© A Webber

So if you want to get the sharpest blur free images from your digital camera and lens then try these few tips; they will make a difference to getting sharper images.

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Dolica AX730P105 73-Inch Proline Tripod and Pan Head

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 65x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Super Bundle W/ 32GB SDHC Class 10 High Speed Memory Card, Dig Pro Case SD USB 2.0 Card Reader

Fujifilm S4500 Compact Digital Camera

 

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source http://photographicblog.com/beginners-guide-to-taking-perfectly-blur-free-sharp-images/

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25 Fantastic HDR Photos Taken to the Extreme

HDR means High Dynamic Range and in photography it means, combining together different exposures of the same shot to create a photograph that is striking and unusual. Shots are taken in RAW mode, and combined together in post processing. You can view a tutorial on how to do these shots for yourself here.

Some people love this style and some people hate it, personally I love it – it gives shots a crazy feel, like they are from a computer game. In this post I will roundup 25 of my favourites, kindly made available under creative commons license by the Photographers.

Missing in Action

Missing in Action by Christolakis

I’ve reached the end of the world

I’ve reached the end of the world by Stuck in Customs

The Bamboo Forest

The Bamboo Forest by Stuck in Customs

Park – Parque del Campo Grande, Valladolid (Spain) HDR

Park – Parque del Campo Grande, Valladolid (Spain) HDR by marcp_dmoz

Cathedral of Santa Eulalia

Cathedral of Santa Eulalia by marcp_dmoz

Chocolate, Mercado de la Boquería, Barcelona (Spain), HDR

Chocolate, Mercado de la Boquería, Barcelona (Spain), HDR by marcp_dmoz

The Baha’i Temple at Blue Hour

The Baha’i Temple at Blue Hour by kern.justin

symphony

symphony by paul (dex)

casa loma

casa loma by paul (dex)

Shopping in Wonderland

Shopping in Wonderland by …-Wink-…

Plaça Catalunya – Barcelona HDR

Plaça Catalunya – Barcelona HDR by MorBCN

Nice Sundown in New York

Nice Sundown in New York by Sprengben

Hannover Rathaus

Hannover Rathaus by Sprengben

Rocketship Park

Rocketship Park by Neil Armstrong2

Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach by /\ltus

Real Madrid CF Stadium

Real Madrid CF Stadium by marcp_dmoz

Bristol City Centre at Night

Bristol City Centre at Night by L.A. SCOWEN.

Nikon D700 HDR

Nikon D700 HDR by marcp_dmoz

the winds of skagit.

the winds of skagit. by heanster

New York New York in Las Vegas

New York New York in Las Vegas by Werner Kunz

Kerk Onze-Lieve-Vrouwenbasiliek in Maastricht

Kerk Onze-Lieve-Vrouwenbasiliek in Maastricht by Werner Kunz

Trees sky – Piani di Bobbio

Trees sky – Piani di Bobbio by Andrea Costa Photography

The Magic of Disney

The Magic of Disney by Stuck in Customs

Stuck in Customs in Space

Stuck in Customs in Space by Stuck in Customs

The Hole

The Hole by Caese

The post 25 Fantastic HDR Photos Taken to the Extreme appeared first on Photographic Blog.

source http://photographicblog.com/25-fantastic-hdr-photos-taken-to-the-extreme/

Moving Beyond Automatic Mode on your Digital Camera

Do you keep yours on auto?

When using your digital camera, do you always keep it in auto mode? find all the settings and modes confusing? well, you’re  not alone, many people do. But you’re missing out on the creative, fun part of photography, you’re also preventing  your camera from reaching  its full potential by not using all the features it has to offer, such as aperture priority, shutter priority, changing ISO settings and bracketting to name but a few; you’re also missing out on getting better pictures.

Try a different one

Of course, when using auto mode on digital cameras these days the results will be pretty good most of the time, but not all the time.

There will be a time when you want to take a photograph of someone where the background is cluttered and will want to make the background out of focus to hide the clutter, but didn’t know how to use ‘aperture priority’ mode, or maybe you wanted to shoot someones silhouette against a sunset, but didn’t know how to use the exposure compensation setting. So perhaps it’s time to switch off auto-mode for a while and try a different one.

Where to start

Most digital cameras have basic modes such as, portrait, landscape, sports and others, and creative modes too, which will include; aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and program. Although these modes will vary from camera to camera, you’ll find nearly all dslr’s and some compacts will have these modes and more. So, you could start by using the basic modes first; to wean you off the auto mode habit.

What’s your focal length?

One thing to remember is that the focal length on your camera lens will make a difference to the pictures you take in any mode, (have a look at my other post- Beginners guide to depth of field).

Basic modes

Try using portrait mode next time you want to photograph someone standing relatively close; there’s less contrast and less sharpening in that mode, and so making the image softer and more flattering.When taking pictures of a landscape, instead of using auto, try using Landscape mode, it  has more saturation and sharpness to give more vivid colours.

Aperture priority

After using the basic modes, why not try out the creative modes? you could start by using ‘aperture priority; if you want to take a picture where everything near and far is in focus; just move the dial round until you find a high f/stop number (small aperture), as high as the available light will allow and the camera will choose the right shutter speed, (you’ll probably need a tripod if your shutter speed goes too low)

Shutter priority

If you want to take a picture of something fast moving, or when you want to freeze the action, then use shutter priority mode; just move the dial round to get the right shutter speed and the camera will select the appropriate aperture; you’ll need to check your cameras manual to find out which mode is which (eg Canons shutter priority mode is: TV, which stands for time value).

Program mode

This mode will allow you to select the basic exposure settings, but you can still override the cameras choices to fine-tune your image.

Manual mode

Use this mode when you want full control over the shutter speed and aperture to get creative effects. I’ve always used manual mode, it allows me to get more creative over what I photograph,along with aperture priority mode. So,the next time you want to take a photograph, try turning that dial away from auto and try something different, you might even like it.

 

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source http://photographicblog.com/moving-beyond-automatic-mode-on-your-digital-camera/